I was pretty bushed yesterday and avoided any killer sets. It's definitely a pattern with me -- 4 weeks of hard training and I need a recovery week. I also think I need to do more body work. I still haven't been to an ART specialist since moving here, though I may have just found one fairly near me. Off to Sewy shortly.

I worked my tail off on Saturday drilling post holes and dug about 20 holes with the rented auger. There were two major challenges; first challenge was the auger was very hard to move around in our wooded area. The auger was a one man auger with the motor on a 4 wheel unit that you pushed and pulled and was attached to the auger by a crank shaft. The second challenge was that as we dug the holes the auger bit would hit roots or get under roots making it next to impossible to dig and then get the auger bit out. To say the work was back breaking was an understatement. I did however get to spend time with my dad all afternoon and that alone was worth all the aches and pains that I am now carrying.

I went to bed at 7pm last night and slept solid all night. In fact I could have very easily just turned over and headed back to sleep this morning. I did not.

OMG I was whooped today. Right out of the gate I was hurting. I still had a good practice but this one took a lot of mental focus to stick with it and not whimp out. I was holding 1:03-1:04 on the 8x100s and going 6 lines underwater. On the 200s I went 2:01,1:59,1:57 on round 1 and 1:59,1:57,1:55 on round 2. I held 1:21s on the kick set. I cruised the fly and back on the 75s and then tried doing the free afap but I was not that fast. I really tried to refocus on the 2x100s afap from a push with fins and went :47.76 on the first 1 jamming the last turn and 46.54 on the second(Tom timed us in these). I was really happy with my effort but they hurt so bad. I never know what to read from times with fins but it was nice to get on top of the water and swim fast.

Today was a crazy busy day, starting with my masters practice, coaching the seniors for 2 hrs, and then putting up a fence in our back yard including renting and using an auger in a wooded area which I knew would be hard work and it turned out that way. With picking up and returning the auger I did not stop all day and I am pooped. The good thing was I got to spend the day with my dad and that alone was worth any amount of tiredness I had; he is awesome.

Practice was a little shorter than I wanted due to a sprint meet at the pool and all our top age group training groups were in the pool together from 8-10 when the meet started. After my epiphany about the way I attack the race pace set I tried upping my game on the 100s today. I was tired on the warmup and expected to really struggle but I ended up with another terrific set.

Warm up
800 Reverse IM twitch

main sets
12x50 drill/build on :50
16x100 at 500 race pace on 2mins

warm down
400 easy

I was out in :55 and held :55/:56 through 9 where I started getting really dizzy and decided to skip 10. I then held :56s on the remainder of this set. The air quality in the pool sucked today and probably had something to do with my dizziness. I especially worked the 2nd 50 of each 100 and one of my training partners made reference to my turns at 50 and seeing me leaving him behind(he held :59s which was a great set for him).

6 x 25 burst to 15m then cruise @ :50
-- I did 6 x 25 breast dolphin @ 100 pace (16s)
-- bursting at the end of a long practice seem rather futile to me
200 EZ

Total: 3250

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was pretty bushed after that effort and had a big night's sleep. I had planned today as an off today bc Lil Fort has a track meet in Youngstown. My body definitely needs a day off.

Saw this article on core training on Swimming World: http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com...core-strength/. That's where I got the idea for the elevated side bridge with hip abduction. I thought this looked pretty easy, but it was not. I also like the eccentric bosu exercise.

I felt out of breath on the rotator IMs but did get better as I got going. i was coming in on 1:30s on the 150s and despite trying to get on it on the 50s I descended on the back going :32,:31,:31,:30,:30,:29. I used the kick as active recovery. I was holding :13s to my feet on the 25s. My right elbow has been a little sore the past month or so and I believe I am dropping my right elbow on the early phase of the catch. We used the 50s as a way of trying to keep my right elbow high. I had my right shoulder rebuilt before going to college and suspect I have always had a slight drop in my stroke mechanics but for some reason my elbow is now sore to the touch. I plan on trying to focus on a higher elbow to overcome the issue.

Have to work until 11pm tonight then be back in tomorrow morning by 7:00am for a shift, then work through weekend, and then on Monday work from 7:00 am to 4:00pm (quickly change clothes) and work from 4:00pm to midnight. By Tuesday I will be

I was glad that I opted for a recovery workout today. I felt really tired in the water after last night's practice. I find it somewhat harder to swim the next day if I swam the night before as opposed to noon the day before. As usual, the hypoxic work was much easier in the warmer water. I still got a couple calf cramps along the way. I read recently that cramping is really a result of nerve over-stimulation, not all the other long suspected causes.

I signed up for the 1/24 Buffalo meet and booked a hotel. Since it was a flat entry fee, I signed up for 5 events, planning to scratch 1-2 depending on how fast the meet runs.

I finally got around to stretching today. I should not take my flexibility for granted.

I once again had a terrific night of sleep and felt great when I woke up. Today I got back to swimming after drylands by starting at 4:55 instead of 5:10am. I did not quite finish what I had hoped to do in the dryland portion but its ok!

I felt pretty tight after the dryland portion of the workout but loosened up and was ok after the swim.
------

After some pondering and thought about this scy season I have decided I am going to build my season plan around spring nationals. Work may change the final meet to be Canadian nationals or no spring taper meet, but I will handle those as they come and will plan for spring nationals.

In an ideal world I would do spring nationals and Canadian nationals but unfortunately that's not on the table due to my kids school schedules and the cost of doing two travel meets(without my family). Another big factor in my decision is the ability to do a really fast relay with Water Rat(and hopefully Fort), and another shot at my little Ewok buddy from Austin before he ages up. I am not making excuses(although I am sure if he reads this as I know he will, he will see this as an excuse for my performance last year), but look forward to a race with both of us healthy!

My tentative spring meet schedule will be:

USAS Champs Meet in Rockwall, TX on 20 Feb(this may get scratched if my daughter still needs her TAGS cuts)

DAM scy Spring Meet in Dallas, TX on 19 March

South Central Zone Meet in Frisco, TX on 8-10 April

Spring Nationals Meet in Greensboro, NC on 28 April - 1st May

Rockwall Intersquad Meet in Rockwall, TX on 7 May(yet to be sanctioned)

I will swim M,W,F,Sa and do dryland and swim on T,TH. I am looking to add one more swim workout into the schedule and focus on aerobic swimming during this workout. I want to continue to swim a range of events and I think my 800m swims suffered in both LCM and SCM as a result of dropping my yardage and ramping up my intensity. I was doing about 20k last season and would like to increase my yardage to 23-25k. I have not yet figured out how to add this workout to my schedule and keep my wife happy. My options appear to be:

Find a local pool to swim at on Sunday

Do my drylands on Tuesday and Thursday from 4:30-5:30am and swim from 5:30-6:30am

Do a double on Monday or Friday after I am done coaching

I am leaning towards option 2 because I am often awake at that time anyway and its also the only option I don't have to take away time from my family, but in reality is the hardest on me, so we shall see how this goes.

I have goals done and splits and race pace targets so hopefully I will be able to stay healthy and have a great season. I am excited for the season.

I was really tired after this effort. Being tired seems to be a constant theme in my blog as of late. Looking back, I've done many hard swim (and lifting) workouts and virtually no recovery swims since NE Champs -- though I have taken some days off. I probably need a massage. I had planned to lift today, but I think I'll do a recovery/hypoxic type swim instead.

It is ridiculous how much faster my breaststroke is when I use a dolphin kick ... Timing is better too.

i felt good on the warmup and the open close easy fast set. I consciously tried picking my pace up on the first 4x50s and started out with a :25 and then worked to hold solid :26s. I hit a groove and despite nearly all the 50s hurting I managed to hold solid :26s the whole way. I cruised the IMs and got about 10 seconds rest. I was tired today but very happy with no :26 highs or :27s.

Hit the gym on Monday night for 20 minutes on the elliptical. Today at lunch Lena and I went to the high school for lunch with Preston's culinary class, here's a peek ...

After school Preston and I went to watch the new Star Wars movie, his first time seeing one. I haven't watched them since the original three as a kid, which I guess are now #4-6. I have always been a fan of the music score.